Juventus youngster Moise Keane has been hitting the headlines of late for rather unfortunate reasons.
The Juventus teenager was the subject of horrible racial abuse from Cagliari fans on Tuesday night and upon scoring his team’s second goal, Kean seemingly responded with his celebration.
Shockingly, the reaction received a mixed reception and his own teammate Leonardo Bonucci – despite casting doubt on his comments since – claimed ‘the blame is 50-50.’
The footballing world has come together to defend Kean in the aftermath and it’s sadly one of a number of racially-charged incidents that have blighted Italian football recently.
What the actions of some Cagliari fans shouldn’t take away from, though, is the impressive performances Kean has been delivering on the pitch this season.
Given the embarrassment of riches at the Allianz Stadium and a certain forward called Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s not easy for a 19-year-old to break into the starting XI.
His emphatic response against Cagliari marked his fifth goal of the season, pretty impressive when he’s only had nine appearances in which to shine.
However, the road to Juventus’ first team certainly hasn’t been an easy one and that was very more apparent than during an interview with the player’s mother this week.
Isabelle Kean spoke to one football publication before Juventus’ latest game and spoke about the moment that changed her life forever, when Moise said that she should quit her job.
“We had little money. Then one day Moise calls me on my way to work at 5:30 AM and says ‘Mom, I’ve a surprise’,” she recalled.
“I told him ‘No, don’t tell me you didn’t sign with Juve.’
If that’s not heartwarming, we’re not sure what is.
The striker started his youth career with Asti, but it was spells with Torino and Juventus that would eventually launch him into the riches and opportunities of the professional game.
We can’t begin to imagine how proud Isabelle is to see her son performing on the big stage for Juventus and alongside arguably the greatest player in history.
She even went on to explain how Moise was often called ‘Moses’ in the household because of his unlikely conception, explaining: “His birth was a miracle.
“The doctors told me that I could not have other children, I cried and prayed. Giovanni [Moise’s older brother] also asked me for a little brother.
“One night I dreamed of Moses. He came to help me and after four months I was pregnant again.”